Dow down 11, S&P down 2, Nasdaq down 7

NEW YORK -- The market can always find something to worry about. Stocks inched down Friday, the end of a slow summer week, as investors focused on piecemeal signs that yes, there is still plenty wrong with the world economy.

Associated Press archiveA trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Sure, there were no big developments in the European debt crisis. And the second-quarter earnings season continued to wind down calmly, with most companies coming in ahead of profit predictions.

But instead of cheering, investors found other things to fret over. China reported sharply lower growth in its exports. The so-called fiscal cliff, when U.S. government spending cuts and higher taxes kick in on Jan. 1, looms larger now that the distraction of earnings season is over.

"There are three big elephants in the room," said Marty Leclerc, chief investment officer of Barrack Yard Advisors in Bryn Mawr, Penn. "A slowdown in Asia growth, the European crisis ... and the U.S. 'fiscal cliff.' "

To be sure, stocks have risen fairly steadily over the past year, when a downgrade of the U.S. debt rating rocked the markets. Compared to a year ago, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 23 percent.

But that, some analysts believe, doesn't mean the economy is improving. It's more a sign that central banks like the Federal Reserve are still willing to artificially prop up the economy, said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading outside Boston.

"You've got every central bank out there saying, 'We're going to print as much money as it takes, we're going to buy as many bonds as it takes,' " Strazzullo said.

All day Friday, U.S. stocks edged lower but only slightly. With an hour of trading left, the Dow, Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite were down by small fractions of a percent. The Dow fell 11 to 13,154. The S&P 500 lost two to 1,401. The Nasdaq composite fell seven to 3,012.

Friday's performance caps an entire week where stocks barely budged. Many traders are on vacation, and for those who are working, there's no major economic news to help decide whether to buy or sell. "The sound of silence" is how Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Ethan Harris labeled a note to clients Friday.

Manchester United, the white-hot British soccer club, had a lethargic debut as a public company. The stock went public at $14 and was up just a penny. Investors are worried about the company's debt-ridden balance sheet.

A few stocks did make big moves. J.C. Penney jumped 6 percent, rising $1.34 to $23.44, after CEO Ron Johnson laid out more of his vision for turning around the struggling department store company. Lions Gate, the movie and TV studio, rose 2 percent, gaining 31 cents to $13.56, after reporting a revenue surge thanks to "The Hunger Games."

Chesapeake Energy fell 3 percent, slipping 62 cents to $19.69, after reporting that the government is investigating possible antitrust violations related to its purchase of oil and gas land in Michigan. Yahoo fell 6 percent, losing 91 cents to $15.11, after revealing that shareholders might not get a payout that the company had previously planned.

Europe, the cause of so much market consternation for so many months, was quiet. Benchmark indexes fell slightly in France, Germany and Spain. Italy's long-term borrowing costs jumped, a sign that investors are nervous about its ability to pay its debts.

China reported that its export growth slumped to 1 percent in July from more than 11 percent in June, as Europe trimmed its appetite for China's goods.

Dan Heckman, senior vice president at U.S. Bank wealth management in Kansas City, wondered if China's next exports report would show exports shrinking, rather than just growing more slowly.

"You don't have far to go from 1 to zero, or from 1 to negative," he said. "Frankly, we're a little surprised that the stock market isn't down more."

China is the world's second-largest economy and a major player on the world markets stage. Throughout the recession and its aftermath, as other countries struggled, China kept growing and helped prop up everyone else.

Friday's data was just the latest sign of cracks in the country's armor. Thursday, China said that growth had also slowed in its auto sales and factory output.